Riverdale‘s fourth season is well underway, adding a heaping helping of new twists and turns to the iconic Town with Pep. This week’s Halloween-themed installment is no exception, weaving in plotlines and new foes that fans probably didn’t expect. Nestled among all of that was a surprising connection to Katy Keene, the upcoming spinoff that is set to air on The CW in early 2020. While the spinoff is still a few months away from its debut, fans learned that one character has a unique tie to that world. Spoilers for this week’s episode of Riverdale, “Chapter Sixty-One: Halloween”, below! Only look if you want to know!
Videos by ComicBook.com
The episode followed an array of plotlines tied to Riverdale’s teenage ensemble, as they celebrated Halloween in a way that only they could. Among those was Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) and Monroe “Mad Dog” Moore (Eli Goree), who were worried about the kids they’re helping with their newly-created youth center. With the threat of Dodger (Juan Riedinger) and his gang looming overhead, Veronica Luna (Camila Mendes) suggested that the pair throw a Halloween party at the center, to give kids a reason to not be on the street. She then offered to contact a “gal pal” of hers named Katy Keene, who attended a prestigious fashion design school in New York and could theoretically make them Halloween costumes. While Katy (who is set to be portrayed by Lucy Hale) never appears onscreen, she quickly comes through for Veronica, making Archie and Monroe some surprisingly-meta costumes.
This serves as the most direct connection yet from Riverdale to Katy Keene, as the spinoff has only existed within the margins of the series thus far. (Namely, Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray) exited Riverdale midway through last season, in order for Murray to play an older version of the character on Katy Keene.) The name-drop from Veronica – and the mention that Katy is enrolled in a fashion design school – provides a bit more context into the timeline between the two series. It’s been a bit of an open secret that Katy Keene would be set several years after the flagship series, and would follow its characters through their post-high school and college days. But this line confirms that Katy went through high school around the same time as the Riverdale ensemble and that she and Veronica have a history together. Whether or not this will lead to a much-talked-about crossover between the two remains to be seen.
“It is a watershed moment for the company,” Archie CEO John Goldwater previously told ComicBook.com of Katy Keene. “We are called Archie Comics, so most people don’t realize the breadth and depth of our IP. We literally have hundreds of brands, thousands of characters, obviously some way more well-known than others. Comic book people know Katy but the world at large don’t know Katy. And for us to be able to start to mine the depth of our library is a transformative moment for Archie Comics. It’s such an exciting moment in time for the company and it’s as exciting as when Riverdale first came along. It is that kind of seminal moment.”
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW. Katy Keene will debut in 2020 on The CW.
